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TUESDAY, April 10, 2012 — Turns out the late, great, fanatically upbeat Jack LaLanne was on to something: new research from Australia shows physically active seniors experience less psychological distress and maintain greater physical function than non-active seniors.

But you don't have to tow 70 boats for a mile and a half through strong ocean winds and currents (as LaLanne did in Long Beach Harbor at age 70) to enjoy the benefits of being active. Simply playing tennis, walking, swimming, dancing, or doing some vigorous gardening will do the trick.

Published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, the latest Australian research utilized data from that country's 45 and Up Study, a massive ongoing inquiry into healthy aging. Led by Gregory Kolt, Ph.D., of the University of Western Sydney, researchers analyzed 45 and Up survey responses from 100,000 Australian men and women aged 65 and older. Of particular interest were respondents' answers to questions regarding their levels of physical activity, physical function, and psychological distress.

Emotional Health and Physical Inactivity

Kolt and his team discovered that respondents who indicated experiencing any level of psychological distress were four times more likely to have functional limitations that affected their ability to manage day-to-day physical tasks. Those who reported moderate levels of psychological distress were seven times more likely to have physical limitations compared to their non-distressed peers. In a separate study, researchers note, it was found that having functional limitations leads to an approximately 30 percent reduction in seniors' physical activity.

So, in what appears to amount to one big loop of problems feeding off of one another, older people who don't do enough exercise may be more inclined to develop psychological problems, which then could lead to frustrating physical limitations, which in turn could serve to reinforce their reluctance to exercise. In the end, this nasty web can affect seniors' ability to maintain their independence.

Not surprisingly, Kolt's takeaway from his research so far is that exercise is key to ongoing physical and emotional well-being in aging adults. "With greater levels of physical activity, more positive health gains can be achieved, and with greater physical function (through physical activity), greater independence can be achieved," he said in a news release accompanying the published study.

Or, as Jack LaLanne liked to say: "The only way you can hurt your body is if you don't use it."